Buckhorn, Hagan to meet about the Rays Friday

Mayor Bob Buckhorn, left, and County Commission Chair Ken Hagan talk with reporters about their meeting Friday morning to discuss the potential of a Hillsborough location for the Tampa Bay Rays. Both officials stressed that it was too soon to determine if a move for the Rays could be a reality, but said that the intent is to be prepared for that possibility.

The Tampa Bay Rays will be front and center when Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan sit down Friday morning for a chat in the mayor's office.

Hagan confirmed he is meeting with Buckhorn to begin discussing what to do now that St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster has said it's okay for the Rays to look outside Pinellas County for a possible future stadium location.

"It’s just an opportunity for us to get together and discuss the latest developments with respect to the Rays," Hagan said. "We’ve discussed this topic several times in the past, but it’s been several months since we’ve had an opportunity to get together."

Among the items to discuss is the possible formation of a task force or committee to help with the discussion, as well as who should be on it. Hagan has previously expressed his own belief that the committee should include him and the mayor, as well as representatives of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, the Tampa Bay Partnership and the Tampa Sports Authority, as well as business leaders such as Sykes Enterprises CEO Chuck Sykes.

Hagan also wants to talk timetables. He said he doesn't anticipate taking anything back to his full board for consideration for another month or two. He said the next step likely has to be for the St. Petersburg City Council to formally agree to let the Rays look around. The Rays have generally been reticent about talking in too much detail about a new stadium during the baseball season.

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